Press Releases

Ten Things You Won’t Want To Miss In Buffalo This Fall

BUFFALO, NY, September 26, 2007 – Buffalo, New York, is a city at the center of America’s historic interest in the arts and architecture, from famous buildings—both old and new—to exceptional art collections and a tradition of nurturing contemporary artists. This fall, don’t miss out on Buffalo’s exhibitions, historic houses, new buildings, and natural wonders; here are the top ten things to see and do:
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rowing Boathouse will open on the shores of Buffalo’s Black Rock Channel on September 28. This $5.4 million boathouse is based on a 1905 design that was included in Wright’s Wasmuth Portfolio series and will be home to the nation’s largest rowing club.
• The biennial exhibition Beyond/In Western New York is on view at twelve of Buffalo’s visual art institutions throughout the fall. This collaborative presentation features the work of fifty artists representing all practices and career levels across Western New York and Southern Canada.
• The Albright-Knox Art Gallery will premiere the Panza Collection: An Experience of Color and Light on November 16. The exhibition features more than 75 works in the medium of light from the collection of Count Giuseppe Panza, including works by Bruce Nauman, Joseph Kosuth, and Dan Flavin.
• Set on a 70-foot cliff overlooking Lake Erie, Frank Lloyd Wright’s stunning Graycliff Estate has recently completed extensive exterior restorations of all three Wright-designed buildings, including the striking red roofs, massive stone chimneys, cantilevered balconies and glass pavilion windows. Tours are underway during the restoration process.
• New York State’s first Artspace development will debut this fall in Buffalo’s historic Breitweiser printing building. The space has been converted into an artist enclave—an affordable housing development to accommodate more than 60 artists’ living quarters and studio space—as well as commercial space for Buffalo’s arts organizations.

• Exterior construction is now complete on the new home of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. Located across the street from the Albright-Knox, the BPAC’s 75,000-square-foot home designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates will open to the public in summer 2008.
• Amidst a $40 million restoration effort, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House has recently acquired the nearby Wright-designed Gardener’s Cottage and added it to the extended two-hour tour of the complex.
• Arts and Crafts enthusiasts will convene on the historic Roycroft Campus, a center of the nation’s Arts and Crafts movement, on October 26-28 for the fourth annual conference celebrating Western New York’s turn of the century Arts and Crafts legacy.
• The redevelopment of the city’s new $49 million public waterfront at the historic Erie Canal Harbor is nearing completion. The restored terminus of the Erie Canal will include a waterfront esplanade, maritime facilities, and a new Naval and Serviceman’s Park.
• And less than fifteen minutes away is Niagara Falls, one of the nation’s most awe-inspiring natural architectural wonders of the world.

Buffalo’s Rich Art and Architecture

Past and Present
These initiatives reflect Buffalo’s ongoing cultural and civic investment in the city’s celebrated art and architectural history. Buffalo is home to the preeminent cultural institutions of the region, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and its exceptional collection of modern and contemporary art, the multi-disciplinary Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center founded by artists Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo, the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, the CEPA Photography Gallery, and Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. The community continues to foster the development of contemporary artists with a range of programming and initiatives, including the Beyond/In Western New York biennial presentation, the Buffalo Arts Studio, and Artspace development. Additionally, the city of Buffalo boasts one of the strongest architectural histories in the United States, with landmarks designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (Darwin D. Martin House and Graycliff Estate), H. H. Richardson (former Buffalo State Hospital), Eliel and Eero Saarinen (Kleinhans Music Hall), Louis Sullivan (Guaranty Building), Stanford White (Williams-Pratt Mansion), and Frederick Law Olmsted (Buffalo Parks and Parkways). The diversity of architects illustrates Buffalo’s unique role in American history as a city of culture and innovation.
Buffalo is a city with a longstanding history of innovation, discovery, creativity, production, and support for architecture, the arts, and culture. From the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, through the invention of the grain elevator, to the harnessing of hydroelectric power at nearby Niagara Falls and the subsequent development of aviation, automobile, and steel plants, Buffalo has played a distinguished role in the shaping of the American experience—a history that continues to be made today.
For more information about Buffalo’s art and architecture, please visit www.wrightnowinbuffalo.com.

Media Contacts:

Kristen Titus
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
212-671-5173
ktitus@resnicowschroeder.com

Sascha Freudenheim
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
212-671-5172
sfreudenheim@resnicowschroeder.com

Ed Healy
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x236
healy@buffalocvb.org

Doug Sitler
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x252
sitler@buffalocvb.org